Despite recent freezing and near-freezing temperatures, Jackson Public Schools has yet to turn on the heat in several of its buildings.

Students at Davis Magnet School said they've been chilly for several days because there is no heat. Concerned parents contacted 16 WAPT News and said their children had spent at least a week sitting inside cold classrooms.

Administrators at the school said there was a problem with the heater. They said the parts are on order.

Parents of students at McLeod Elementary School voiced similar concerns. They said it's so cold in the classrooms that teachers are using space heaters, and the kids are bundled up. One parent, who didn't want to give her name, said she doesn't think the cold conditions at the schools should be tolerated.

"I don't think we have a situation where temperatures are unbearable," said JPS spokesman Sherwin Johnson. "I don't think we're doing anything different than any other government building."

The school district doesn't turn on the heat until there have been several consecutive days of cold weather, JPS officials said.

In a statement sent to 16 WAPT News late Thursday, JPS said it is monitoring the temperatures at all of its school buildings and facilities.

"As temperatures rise and fall, JPS makes appropriate adjustments based on the recommendations of the principal of each school. There could be delays in heating some school buildings based on mechanical and technical issues associated with a particular school," the statement read.